UES Marine Transfer Station is a point of contention

A marine transfer station planned for York Avenue and 91st Street on the Upper East Side is a hot point of contention for residents who live near the junction where it is being constructed.

The project was first proposed by former Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2006 as part of a plan to have every borough take care of its own trash.

Residents are worried that the station will create hazardous conditions in terms of air quality, noise, pedestrian safety and traffic.

One group, Asphalt Green, a non-profit athletic center that hosts programs in which for neighborhood kids, is concerned because the road where garbage trucks will drive through to get to the East River to dump the solid waste cuts into their recreational space at 91st Street.

According to a recent study done by Asphalt Green in conjunction with Sam Schwartz Engineering, almost 400,000 kids cross the intersection at 91st Street and York Avenue every year.

The organization is concerned that garbage trucks driving by would create dangerous circumstances.

Executive Director Maggie Siegel noted that the organization recommends the route be moved one block north to 92nd Street where trucks could use the FDR Drive instead of cutting into where children play.“We think it’s an absolutely viable alternative for the neighborhood,” she said. “It will reduce enormously the number of residential blocks and crosswalks the trucks will have to use.”The Department of Sanitation is paying attention to the concerns.“This administration has taken a new approach to implementing the City’s Comprehensive Waste Management Plan,” spokesperson Kathy Dawkins said. She added that the department is, “also being responsive to air quality, traffic and pedestrian safety concerns of communities in close proximity to marine transfer stations.”The Department of Sanitation has its engineers conducting a feasibility study of a possible ramp on 92nd Street, she said.